1. Gaetano Mazzaglia dei Conti Cutelli, better known as Count Tano Cutelli, was an Italian-American nobleman and sound effects specialist for television and Hollywood films during the 1920s and '30s, and worked for companies including Disney and Looney Tunes.
Gaetano Mazzaglia dei Conti Cutelli was born in Sicily, and grew up on his father's estate near Mount Etna.
Count Cutelli was raised as a nobleman within the Italian aristocracy.
Count Cutelli moved to Hollywood in the early 1920s in order to begin performing in early "talkie" motion pictures.
Count Cutelli was asked to do a screen test for his imitation of a crying baby, and soon after began doing film work.
Count Cutelli immigrated to the United States in 1930, settling in Los Angeles, and became a naturalized citizen a decade later.
Count Cutelli was able to produce more than 2,000 sound effects from his throat, including a large variety of different animals, mechanical noises, and weather effects.
Count Cutelli worked closely with Leon Schlesinger to hold seminars on the subject matter.
Count Cutelli developed techniques for the creation of other noises, such as rain, used in the media industry.
Count Cutelli died of a heart attack on July 16,1944, while waiting for a train in Seattle.